figé

Figé is a French adjective describing something that is immobilized, fixed, or rigidly established. It can apply to a physical object, a situation, a system, or an attitude. The feminine form is figée, and the related verb is figer, whose past participle is figé.

Etymology: figé derives from the Latin figere, meaning to fix or fasten. The word evolved through old French to its current sense of being made stationary or unchanging.

In usage, figé appears across several domains. In everyday language, it can describe physical immobility, such as a body or posture that cannot move, or a scene that has become stiff or unmoving. It is also used figuratively to denote rigidity or lack of flexibility in a system, rule, or organization, for example a bureaucratic process that shows little evolution.

In linguistics, the term is used to refer to expressions or units that are fixed and do not readily allow new combinations, known as expressions figées or fixed phrases. In media and the arts, an image described as figée refers to a still or frozen frame; to figer an image is to stop motion or preserve a moment in post-production.

The verb se figer means to become motionless or to fix oneself in a position or stance. It can describe both literal immobility and the figurative solidification of beliefs, opinions, or situations.

See also: figer, expressions figées, image figée, stasis.